Legionary

Myslevtsev A.S.

A legionary was a soldier of a Roman legion. Legion organisation, recruitment and equipment changed from the Republic into late antiquity. Citizenship was an important requirement under the Principate, but recruitment practice cannot be reduced to one unchanging rule for every period.

Legionary infantry combined close combat with missile weapons. Shields, swords, spears and armour should be considered by date and station; the gladius, pilum and articulated cuirass do not describe every legionary kit throughout Roman history.

Legionary's Career

Promotion depended on social background, patronage, experience and military ability. Young men of equestrian families could enter service as military tribunes or auxiliary prefects, while senatorial officers followed a different career path. Ordinary recruits normally began in the ranks, but specialist skills and bravery could improve their prospects.

Josephus describes soldiers competing for distinction during the assault on Jerusalem, encouraged by promises of rewards and promotion. Within a legion, literacy, administrative ability and craftsmanship could lead to specialist duties and exemption from routine labour as immunes. Junior posts included the tesserarius, responsible for watchwords and guard arrangements, and the beneficiarius, who performed duties for a senior officer. An optio assisted a centurion and could eventually be promoted to the centurionate.

Centurions held different degrees of seniority. The primus pilus was the legion’s senior centurion, not simply its “first warrior”. A distinguished former primus pilus might become praefectus castrorum, the camp prefect. Higher command was not limited to patrician families: senatorial and equestrian careers, imperial appointments and individual advancement all mattered. Transfers between units were possible, but there was no automatic progression from scout to cavalry officer or through a fixed sequence of standard-bearing posts. Signiferi, imaginiferi, vexillarii and aquiliferi had distinct responsibilities.

Legionnaire with bas-relief from Adamklisi,early 2nd century AD.

Tombstone of legionnaire Gaius Valerius Crispus,who served in the VIII Augustan Legion. Wiesbaden. First half of the first century AD

Legionnaire from Trajan's column,early 2nd century AD.

Legionary's Equipment

The equipment of a legionary for the period of the 1st-2nd century AD could consist of the following elements:

Fabric/leather items:

Pileus

Paenula, Sagum

Focale

Subarmalis

Tunic

Bracae

Subligaculum

Caligae, Calcei

Socks

Wrappings

Metal protective equipment items:

Galea

Segmentata, Lorica squamata, Hamata

Cingulum

Manica

Ocrea

Weapon:

Pilum

Gladius

Pugio

Scutum

Additional elements:

Fibula

Rings

Saccus

Purse

Not all of the above-mentioned equipment items were necessarily and universally used. For example, according to the images that have come down to us, legionaries could be without armor at all. Manica and, especially, greaves were not widely spread (the latter are characteristic of the later armament of legionaries at the beginning of the 2nd century). The same applies to simpler equipment items, like bracae and subarmalis.

Atypical Images of Legionaries

In addition to the classic panoplia of a heavily armed infantryman, in parallel there was an alternative set of equipment, and it was used specifically in the legions, and not elsewhere. Unlike classical legionaries, whose weapons included a gladius, a barrel-shaped scutum and a pilum, these legionaries could be equipped with lenticular shields and/or even spears (possibly lances instead of pilums shown on reliefs).

According to one version, they could be partially depicted with equipment from their native places or from past places of service (this would explain the presence of equipment used by Roman soldiers of a later period). It is especially important to note that this trend has been noticeable since the middle of the 1st century AD, long before the widespread use of such equipment in the legions of the early 3rd century.

A detailed discussion of shields, polearms, swords and greaves is treated separately in Evolution of Legionary Equipment. The article also explains why lenticular and oval shields in a classic Principate context should be treated as a separate category rather than as the norm for an ordinary legionary.

Tombstone of legionnaire Gaius Castricius Victor, Legio II Adiutrix, 1st century. The oval shield is clearly visible

Tombstone of the legionnaire Flavius Tryphon of II Parthia. Apamea, 3rd century AD

Tombstone of the legionnaire Flavoley Cordas, Legio XIIII Gemina, around 43. An oval shield, probably convex in shape, is clearly visible behind him

Reenactment

You should carefully choose your time period, as the equipment from the Republican period to the late Empire changed quite significantly. If we consider the most typical periods for ancient reconstruction in Russia (which our club also adheres to), there are two most common images: a legionary from the second half of the 1st century AD and the first half of the 2nd century AD. The main differences lie in the helmet, lorica (if segmentata is used - Corbridge for the early period legionary, Newstead - for the late period), and the suspensions on the cingulum (in the uniform of the 2nd century legionary they are much shorter, or even absent). A greave on the left leg is an attribute of a later period legionary.

There are also less obvious differences in armament: the pugio should be of the second type for the 1st century legionary, and of the third type for the 2nd century legionary, and the "Fulham" type gladius can only be used by a 1st century legionary.

You should start creating an image with the simplest things that are included in the minimum set: tunic, shoes (caligae/calcei), cingulum.

Mid-1st century Legionnaire,reconstruction

Legionnaire of the late 1st century,reconstruction

Legionnaire of the late 2nd century AD, reconstruction

A reenactment impression need not begin with a complete set of armour. Many tombstones show legionaries out of full battle dress, wearing simpler everyday equipment. These depictions offer a starting point for a basic kit: a tunic, footwear (caligae or calcei) and a cingulum.

Legionnaire in civilian clothes set

Literature and sources

Vus O. V. Mobile grouping of the Roman army in Taurica at the end of the III-V centuries AD. 2016, Issue 8, pp. 357-376.

Dando-Collins, Stephen. Legions of Rome. The complete history of all legions of the Roman Empire / Translated from English by N. Y. Zhivlova.

Eliseev M. B. Roman–Macedonian wars. Legion against the phalanx.
Moscow: Veche, 2016.
416 p.: ill.
Series "World History". — ISBN 978-5-4444-4926-4.

Zelinsky F. F. Roman Empire.
St. Petersburg: Aleteya, 2000.
496 p —
ISBN 5-89329-071-2.

Cowan Ross. Roman legionaries. 58 B.C.-69 A.D. / Translated from English by N. A. Fenogenova.
Moscow: OOO "AST", Astrel, 2005.
72 p.: ill.
Series "Elite troops". — ISBN 5-17-027924-8.

Chris McNab. The Roman Army. The greatest military machine in history / Translated from English by V. L. Silaeva.
Moscow: Eksmo, 2014.
272 p.: ill.
Series "Illustrated history of military art". — ISBN 978-5-699-74397-1.

Mattesini Silvano. Roman legions. All about the most powerful army of the Ancient world / Translated from Italian by I. E. Andronova.
Moscow: Astrel, 2012.
216 p.: ill. — ISBN 978-5-271-38826-2.

Mattesini Silvano. Soldiers of Rome. 1000 years of history. Organization. Armament. Battles / Translated from Italian by I. E. Andronova, Moscow: OOO "AST"; OGIZ, 2013.
216 p.: ill.
ISBN 978-5-17-081614-9.

Additional views

Relief of a soldier from the column-pedestal group of Mogontiacum. Second half of the first century AD; Landesmuseum Mainz.

Relief fragment from Mogontiacum with a military scene. Images of this kind complement the artefactual evidence for weapons and belts.

Bas-relief with a legionnaire. Landesmuseum-Mainz-D. Second half of the 1st century

Legionnaires in the ranks. Stone bas-relief from Glanum (Saint-Remy de Provence-F). Gallo-Roman Museum of Fourvières-Lyon,1st-2nd century AD

Legionnaire with bas-relief from Adamklisi,early 2nd century AD.

Tombstone of legionnaire Aurelius Sabius from II Traiana Fortis, 3rd century AD

Tombstone of legionnaire Lucius Septimius Viator from II Parthica, AD 218

Tombstone of the legionnaire Gaius Valerius Valens, VIII Augusta, 1st century. It is kept in the Museum of Corinth. The hexagonal shield is clearly visible from above

Tombstone of legionnaire Julius Aufidius from the XVI Flavia Firma, III century. Veria Museum, Greece

Tombstone of Flavius Augustalius from IX Claudia. IV century, Aquileia. Museum of Roman Civilization, Rome, Italy.

Tombstone of Aelius Septimius, option of the I Auxiliary Legion, who died during the campaign against the Variscans, around 173 AD. e, Hungarian National Museum, Budapest, Hungary Inventory number: MNM 10.1951.102.

Interested in Ancient Rome beyond reading? Join Legio X Fretensis or explore our reenactment directions.